[pdonis]

I agree that there are plenty of faculty and students that view the university as something other than conferring degrees as status markers and tickets to opportunities.

But when push comes to shove, that's still the ideology that drives the universities as institutions. That's not a new phenomenon. I was in college 40 years ago, and I saw faculty members who were outstanding teachers get second-rate treatment compared to those whose classes were horrible, but who had the right connections to bring in the grants and promote the brand.